Socks and hats and work, oh my!

Thanks for the nice comments about my colorwork. I guess we'll know how it came out when it's done, but it's definitely reassuring to hear the good words because it is scary as hell. And to make matters worse, I just ordered yarn from Webs to make my second colorwork project — a child's Fair Isle jacket. I must be nuts.

I finished the Ugly Socks! Really, that's not fair at all, because I'm sure I'll enjoy wearing them and the pattern (River Ripple by Michelle Ogden, from my page-a-day calendar) is a well-written one. Stats: KnitPicks Dye-your-own in Too Much Kool-Aid, US #2 DPNs.

Only problem is that there is WAY too much yarn left. Maybe I can mix it with some other scraps for a hat or something.

Regarding hats, just want to let y'all who like to do charity knitting know about the 100 Hats Project. A knitter named Kristy who is going to the Ukraine in September is hoping to take 100 hats to give to special-needs orphans there. Hats are fast, satisfying projects, they use up scrap yarn, and, as a bonus, you get entered in a contest if you knit one, so what's to lose?

(Plus I think I already have a few hats in my FO stash that need homes.. we'll see.)

Despite my 'finishitis', I did start a new pair of socks because I am back to wanting to have a sock on the needles pretty much all the time. There is just no beating the portability.

This is a new yarn I really wanted to try, and picked up in Berkeley at Stash Yarns on our trip. It's Crystal Palace Maizy, 82% corn fiber and 18% nylon elastic. Ravelry users have warned that it's really splitty, and it really is, but it's knitting up soft and yummy, so it may be worthwhile fighting the splits. I'm using the Reversai sock pattern because I was really impressed with Dave's UnReversais. Check out how beautiful his are!

I cannot even come close to gauge. No matter what needles I use for sock yarn, and no matter how thin the yarn is, I seem to get 7.5-8 spi. So I am using US #1s and knitting this as tight as I can and I'm using the "women's medium" (60 stitch) size. Let's hope! It looks okay so far. The color is a really dark brown, just gorgeous. I mostly wear black or brown socks during the week, so I'm looking forward to having socks that go with my work clothes.

After working from home for three days, I'm going to try coming in to the office tomorrow. I'm getting itchy feet. Staying home when you can't knit (during work hours, that is) is like being on a diet with someone dangling cupcakes in front of you! Might as well be out of temptation's way.